The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-06-08


was like ours, would probably attain
gigantic stature. So the visitor from
the earth to the moon would find
that in passing from larger planet to
smaller one he had got among big men
instead of little ones. Let us now mag
inc our celestial traveller paying visit to
a larger world than the earth-to Jupiter,
for Instance. Jupiter is about / 300 times
as large as the earth, People should
not let such q statement merely pass
in at one ear to escape at the other, as
frequently happens, because this enor-
nous world of Jupiter that astronomers
tell of not only actually exists, but any
body can see it. Look into the south
any time this month or next, and the
brightest star you see there is Jupiter
a world so big that this big earth of ours
is plaything beside it. Don't mistake
the still brighter star that you will see at
the same time in the west of Jupiter
That star Is Venus which, although not
quite as large as the earth, outshines her
huge brother Jupiter, because she is hun
dreds of millions of miles nearer to us
than he is.
Now while Jupiter is 1900 times as
large as the earth, he is only 800 times as
heavy. 1t is plain, then, that cubic foot
of Jupiter must be lighter than a cubic
foot of tae earth. Astronomers under
take to explain this fact by supposing
that Jupiter Is yet very hot, not having
cooled down and become enerusted with
solid rock as the earth has done, and
there are many facts which lend strength
to this conjecture. Still IL is only more
or less probable conjecture, and so in con
sidering the conditions of habitation
upon Jupiter as affected only by what we
do actually know about that planet, we
can pass it by.
Applying, then, the same rule we used
in the case of the moon, we find that as
Jupiter's mass is 800 times that of the
earth, and his radius about eleven times
that of the earth, the force of gravita-
ton upon Jupiter must be about two
and one half times as great as it is upon
the earth So man weighing 100 pounds
here would weigh 375 pounds upon
Jupiter, while one of our heavy weights,
or member of one of our fat mems
clubs, weighing, say, 800 pounds, stand
ing in his terrestrial shoes, would be
so heavy that If he visited Jupiter he
could neither walk nor stand, and would
probably be unable even to lie down
with comfort. An elephant transported
to Jupiter would be, so to speak, over
whelmed by his own weight A kan
CARGO would feel as If he were chained
to the ground. An eagle would founder
as though his wings had been clipped.
stone as large as ones fist dropped
from the hand might crush your foot.
In the case of the moon we find that
an inhabitant of that world who weighed
no more than an average man weighs
upon the earth would be ten or eleven
feet tall, and not only actually stronger,
but very much more powerful In proper
ton to his height. On the other hand, If
he were proportionately only just as en-
ergetic as terrestrial man then he would
be thirty-four or five feet tall, and would
weigh six times as much as descendant of
Adam. In the case of Jupiter we will
adopt the latter supposition, namely, that
the inhabitants of that planet possess
proportionally no more physical energy
than those of the earth. Then since the
face of gravitation on Jupiter is two and
a-half times as great as IL is here, il
follows by simple calculation that the
Jovian man will be two and a-half times
shorter than the terrestrial man, or say
two feet and three inches tall
Although inhabited by dwarfs, Jupiter
would appear to visitor from the earth
as q planet of magnificent distances.
The surface of Jupiter is TO that of the
Garth as 100 to /. A Jovian continent
proportionally as large as North Amer
lea would be some 81 900 miles across The
diminutiye inhabitants of Jupiter would
perhaps hesitate long time before they
undertook to build railroad across it,
aud after they started the job they would
need good many years to finish it, OF |
course they would labor under similar
difficulties in attempting to navigate their
enormous oceans, supposing that such
oceans existed there.
Besides, unless there exists some at
mospheric provision to modify the Jovian |
Jupiter would be very chilly |
abode. Its mean distance from the sun
being, in round numbers, five times as
great as that of the earth, it can, in ac-
cordance with the law of radiant energy, |
get only one-twenty-fifth as much solar |
light and heat as we receive. AS already |
suggested, its dense atmosphere might, |
in part. make up for the lack of heat;
but still, the Jovians would need cats
eyes to seeg we'll. The sun setting far
away across The interminable expanse of
their broad landscape would present a
little disk only one.twenty-fifth Of the
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